Sounds play an important role in notifying or alerting users. A smoke alarm warns of a potential fire. A siren or a car horn warns drivers of a potential road hazard. A mobile phone ringtone notifies a user that an incoming call is being received. Such sounds are designed to distract and divert attention to a potentially important event or condition. In some cases, however, similar warning or alerting sounds, when generated by a television, radio, communications device, or computing device as part of an audio and/or multimedia broadcast, might inappropriately cause distraction. For example, a driver of an automobile may be confused as to whether the sound of a police siren originates from inside or outside the automobile when the sound of the siren is being output by the car radio as part of a radio broadcast.